Florida’s deep data dive highlights its most valuable tourists

Samantha Shankman, Skift

- Jun 18, 2013 12:54 pm

Skift Take

Florida has little shot of actually becoming the world’s most visited destination, but its reputation, driven by family travel and theme parks, is on course to make significant gains in line with global tourism growth.

— Samantha Shankman

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Florida welcomed a record 89.3 million visitors in 2012, up from 87.3 million in 2011. This growth is due in part to the number of overseas and Canadian visitors increasing far faster than was expected based on historical trends.

Florida’s goal of becoming the most visited destination in the world hinges on increasing brand awareness and attracting international visitors. Visit Florida released its 2013-2014 Marketing Plan on Tuesday morning and in it is a wealth of self-reported and outside statistics as well as an outline for increasing visitation and spending in the future.

Both overseas and Canadian visitors increased 8.8 percent year-over-year to 10.2 million and 3.6 million, respectively. These foreign tourist spent a combined $15 billion in 2012, a 9 percent increase over 2011.

In comparison, U.S. visitation hit 75.6 million in 2012, up just 1.2 percent year-over-year.

Although international visitors won’t overwhelm domestic visitors any time soon, their rapid growth signifies the most opportune market to focus on in the future.

International markets

Visit Florida categorizes countries as core, growth, and emerging tourism markets. Its short-term focus is increasing brand awareness with an eye for long-term strategies that will bring the new generation of travelers from develop markets like India and China to Florida, and the U.S., in the future.

Below is a breakout of each of Florida’s international tourism markets and what they contributed to the state’s economy in 2012.